August 28, 2012

It's almost that time! Time for the Democratic National Convention and it's going on close to me, in Charlotte. I'll be volunteering with the Press Division. I'm uber excited. Needless to say, let me go ahead and apologize to TJ Holmes wife right now, just in case I meet him. They might send me home. Ok, in reality, I'll probably clam up and have a Ace Ventura smile on my face like i did when I met Jamal Lewis.

July 31, 2012

I went to the grocery store last night and on my way out, I ran into a man that was obviously old enough to be my father. The image that you have in your head is exactly how he was dressed. White v-neck shirt, shorts, black socks, and flip flops. He hit me with every line imaginable:

"Hey baby, you need a ride to your car. You so beautiful, I'd take you to your car, carry your groceries, I'd do whatever you like. I'd take the shirt off my back and let you walk on it so that your feet don't have to touch the ground. What's your name besides Angel? Are you seeing somebody? (I lie and say I am because by my parameters, he's a bit too old for me). Can I take you to dinner, to lunch, to breakfast? He says, How long have you two been dating? He caught me off guard with that one. I say 8-months. He says, baby, if he don't know what he wants by now, you don't need him." I have a feeling that he would've said that even if I said two weeks. I say "No, I'm good." He says, "Well baby, I be near you, away from you, whatever you want." I ended with thanks for the compliments and walked away. He was a funny end to my day.

I wonder what he would've said if I said "Ok, lets go out." It probably would've scared him to death.

July 20, 2012

We suck. There are two of us and a host of guest writers and we haven't updated our blog in 100 years. One of us has added a new baby to her bunch and the other can't seem to sit down long enough to breathe. How does this happen? We have got to do better.

Well, I'll tell you what I did Wednesday night. I was one of the anxious bunch that were on their computers trying to nab a subscription to Curlbox. Yes. The company that is geared to naturals. They send you product samples each month. It's a great way to discover new products and a way to feed product junkies like me. It's $20/month.

The company only allows new subscribers every few months. I heard that it's tough once the anticipated "subscription day" comes. Since subscriptions are limited, you have to be on your game. And trust me, i was on mine. It opened at 8pm est. So I of course had 2 pages up on my laptop (one in Safari and one in Firefox) and one on my ipad. I had it geared up so that all I had to click was "Add to Cart." All this by 7:55. I was READY.

When 8 o'clock rolled around, I clicked the magical "add to cart" button and boom! White screen. "Server unavailable." Ummmm say what, say huh? I was like, "you have got to be kidding me." But i'm patient, so I hit refresh. And man was my page moving slow, each of them were. But I let it tick away. Meanwhile, my friend is texting me out of frustration because she can't get through either. It was madness.

All in all, I finally got thru and completed my purchase. I have to say that i'm glad that I received my subscription, but I surely hope that they do better next time. I'll let you know what i get in my first box!

April 12, 2012

I know that we've both been ghost for a while, we've GOT to fix that. But I couldn't help but write a review on Act Like A Lady Think Like A Man. I HAD to give this movie it's props. I attended a PACKED preview screening last night. My coworker and I were discussing the book before the movie started. She said that she'd read the book and loved it. I said that I wasn't really that interested in reading the book. I just wanted to see the movie. Nothing against Steve Harvey, but I figured that we all know what we do wrong. For some reason, we just can't stop doing it. I don't need to read that I shouldn't overly compromise. But a lot of times, I do. I definitely know that I shouldn't give it up to men who don't deserve it or that men should open doors for me. I know that part. So why should I read a book.

What's funny is that Taraji P. Hensons character thought the same way that I did. But I don't have her characters money :). She was nice and wrong. I wonder if I am too.

The movie showcased so many major african american actors, singers, and athletes, I wanted to scream "Now take that! And give these people more work!" As a side note: Can somebody please tell Ron Artest or Peace to the World or whatever his name is to put on some longer shorts. Please. I'm beggin you.

I don't even need to tell Kevin Hart fans that he was FABULOUS and stole the show. And if you aren't a Kevin Hart fan. Go see someone about your funny bone because this dude is HILARIOUS!

Every woman has been represented by at least one woman in the cast at some point in their lives. Even if it's not right now. And we've met at least one of the men that are depicted. And in hindsight, we thought, man, I wish that I'd done that. In reality, I'd take Michael Ealy please. With a cherry on top. That man is fine. I'm feeling Terrance J as well. I put him on the radar after he was on "The Game." Even Chris Brown got a "whew" from the audience. This movie is great for men and women. We both have tons of eye candy and we can both relate.

The movie was funny, it moved fast, and it was relatable. Even if you didn't read the book. The audience applauded at the end. This movie gets 2 thumbs up from me. Go see it. Pay for it. Don't get it from the bootleg man.

March 07, 2012

Why can't we cross our arms, nod our heads, and have all of the fat come off. I signed up for this bootcamp down the street from my house. It hurts. It's 3 days a week. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. What was I thinking? In all honesty, I missed last Friday. It was rainy and cold. I even left work early because it was just one of those days, I was feeling blah. One problem is that the bootcamp is so late. It starts at 7:30pm. Once I get home, I really don't want to leave the house and I certainly don't want to stay at work that long. I have to admit, once you're in there, you're fine. It's going that's hard.

The teacher is great though. I'll keep you guys up to date on our activities so that you can decide if you want to add them to your normal routine.

We received an email asking all of us to eat breakfast this week. They noticed from our pre-bootcamp interview that most of us weren't eating breakfast. We were asked to try to keep it around 300-400 calories. Some suggestions were fresh fruit smoothies, toast with peanut butter and an apple, kids Clif bar with greek yogurt and granola, or two boiled eggs with toast. If you're on the go, they suggested eating an egg McMuffin.

Our last exercise of the night was a 4 minute circuit exercise. You grab resistance bands. Stand on them and do bicep curls as fast as possible (but controlled) for 20 seconds. Rest for 10 seconds. Then do "skaters" for 20 seconds. Rest 10 seconds. Go back to the bicep curls for 20 seconds. Rest for 10 seconds and back to "skaters." Keep this up for 4 minutes. If you're looking for something a little different, add it towards the end of your workout. Remember to go as fast as you can, but keep each movement controlled and correct.

March 06, 2012

You know, I'm really getting sick of these companies with horrible customer service. Especially when something is pretty costly. Our girl Brown Suga is back to share a salon review with us. Take a look:

I’m back blushing ladies with another installment of my hair journey. This time I decided to be Damned….courtesy of The Damn Salon. Their niche is that they only have two physical locations and travel across the country to bring you fabulous damn twists.

Lets start with how I discovered The Dam Salon – I was on FB on one of the many natural hair fan pages that I like and someone posted about this salon. I clicked and after browsing the pics I was hooked. I had finally found a protective style that sexy, sassy and funky. I call to schedule the appointment for their “Taste of DC” event and put down a deposit. I was told a week before the event I would receive an email with the location and other important details needed. One week out no information..so being proactive I send them an email to confirm that they have me on their books. I receive a response (within a fairly quick amount of time) stating that they do. I go to their FB page a day or so later and see an announcement regarding having a few open slots left. Insert thought bubble here ”How about you all send out that confirmation email that you promised?” I comment asking when can I expect to receive a confirmation email. Thinking I’m on the only one…imagine my shock when my comment was liked by several people. The next day the magical email appears.

Let me also add I had a truly blonde moment and scheduled my appointment on super bowl Sunday at noon. I figured ok…I scheduled my appointment at noon – at least I’ll be cute in time for the super bowl party I was going to later on that evening.

I arrive to my appointment early (please pat me on my back) and I’m a bit confused as my navigation delivers me to the front of an upscale high rise apartment building. Well I be damned – my appointment was in a corporate rental. Whatever floats your boat I guess.

I am greeted warmly and I fill out a questionnaire and browse through a book. We also discuss what I want done. In comes the up charges that were not discussed when I made the appointment. There’s an extra cost for a trim, color of the hair being used and length. Why wasn’t any of this discussed either on your website or in your communications with me? Also, because of their set up I had to come in with my hair already washed and dried.

By this point its 12:20. I begin to survey the room and realize there are X number of chairs and NO ONE is done yet. Dear god, sweet baby Jesus and the 12 disciples please let me get out of here in time for my super bowl party. Fast forward to 1:30 and I’m still sitting and waiting. I inquire about the refund policy for my deposit because I have somewhere else to be and sitting here is not an option any more. She assured me I’d be seated by 2pm and will be out in time to get to my party. Now let’s remember my appointment was at Noon and I got there EARLY!

I’m finally seated and she works on my hair little interruption. Once my hair is done they twist my hair to set it and I schedule a time to come back in two days to have them taken down. I go to pay and I am in sticker shock (I’m intentionally leaving the amount I actually spent out of this post because I know better…much much better. But it was $100 more than I budgeted for). I couldn’t in good conscious tip for obvious reasons. While at first I was on the fence about not tipping, but I was ultimately happy with my decision for reasons I’ll go into greater detail about later.

So before I leave I schedule my follow up appointment for April 7th based on when they told me when they will be back. (bookmark this line, check your calendar and sigh with me).

I go a full day with my hair twisted up and I get antsy and take them out myself to see what it would look like the next night (so needless to say I never went back). I look in the mirror and I fell in love. The twists were what I expected and much more. I received many compliments on my hair the first week it was unreal.

Another highlight of these damn twists is that you can style them just like you would your regular hair. So I go about my business doing so and I take a stab at washing them 1.5 weeks later. This is where things start to take an awful turn. Now granted my real hair is growing in from a short cut so it’s not full all over my head and there also places where my hair is shorter but still catchable. So imagine my shock when these damn twists start slipping. I could have screamed, cussed and cried. I paid all this money and these twists are slipping not only in the sections where my hair is shorter but in places where my hair is longer.

I am on FB and see that they post their next “Taste of DC” dates - April 12th – 17th. *Insert Scooby doo face here*….my appointment was for the 7th. What the hell happened? So immediately I send an email inquiring about the difference in dates. One day goes by no response. I go on their FB page and post a comment explaining my situation and was told that the 7thfell on Easter Weekend (Dear Lord) and they had to push the event back. You mean to tell me that you didn’t consult a calendar before hand? I was told to call their 202/Washington, DC number. So I call and leave a voicemail. As of the day I am typing this review, 7days after leaving the voicemail, I have yet to get a call back. Let me also add that at the time I scheduled my follow up appointment they wanted me to put down a deposit. I politely declined and told them I would call to do so closer to the event. The lord works in mysterious ways I tell ya.

As my twists slipped out I tried putting them back in with the original hair and then I decide to experiment with other hair. Needless to say the outcome was disastrous. So as I am sitting in Panera sipping my mango smoothie with my hat on these damn twists… I am contemplating going back to my $180 fluffy twists that I had last year that were easy to manage, stayed in for six weeks and made my hair grow fast.

In summation for the amount of money I spent not only was I damned I was bamboozled. I will not chase you down to spend my money and I will not travel to various cities to fix the mess you left on my head.

Now granted there are loyal Damn Salon customers and more power to them. However, given my experience and that of fellow blogger – Dagny Zenovia: (you can see it here) I cannot in good conscious recommend you going to them for their twists. I can recommend an alternative twist style and that would be the fluffy twists. While they may not offer the full versatility of the Damn Salon Twists…for $180 they are far more budget friendly.

Women are as complex as men proclaim but from that complexity come the most beautiful things. From the technique of the smoky eye, to the perfect lip, to having nothing to wear, to a never ending range of emotions, women are bold, sensitive, sweet and sour.

The spirit and intent of this blog is to offer and share with women around the world insight into our vast complexities – whether beautiful or scarred.